‘Faith In The Time Of Monsters’: Dr. Cornel West Delivers Powerful Words Of Hope

In a passionate and deeply insightful speech, Dr. Cornel West offered a stirring message of hope, justice, and love during Faith in the Time of Monsters, an event that served “as a fundraiser for the ongoing work of the Centre for Faith, Art, and Justice, which launched in 2023. Through the Center, Valley and Mountain has trained over 10,000 people in nonviolence and supported social movements across the country.” 

Over the course of more than an hour, Dr. West dissected what he described as the spiritual decay and moral corruption plaguing American society, while also charting a path forward rooted in integrity, solidarity, and courage.

Kicking off his speech with the foundational message that love and justice are not merely abstract concepts, but tangible forces that require action, Dr. West highlighted the foundational role of art and music in nurturing these values, stating that they are essential to a society’s soul. He praised cultural and spiritual figures like Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. for embodying what he called the “costly grace” of living for something greater than themselves.

“Soul ain’t nothing but the sharing of a soothing sweetness against the grim backdrop of a catastrophe,” West declared. “We need spokespersons and leaders who are nothing but extensions of ordinary people who have decided to pay a heavy cost.”

The sharpest critique was aimed at what West called “organized greed, weaponized hatred, and routinized indifference toward the vulnerable,” the very ingredients of a fascist society; warning that this “spiritual sickness” did not begin with Donald Trump, but that Trump is merely a sign of a deeper American crisis.

“Fascism is made up of ‘organized greed, weaponized hatred, and routinized indifference toward the vulnerable,” Dr. West said. “The “age of monstrosity, the age of calamity, the age of barbarity” does not begin with Trump, but rather, Trump is a sign and a symbol of it. We must be faithful to the “beloved community” until death, and our moral and spiritual standards must reach the level where we are willing to “be a corpse than a coward” in the face of these monstrous forces.”

To counter these forces, West invoked “funk,” his term for stripping away sanitized, surface-level discourse in order to embrace actual freedom, truth, and healing, adding that true solidarity is not about being an ally from the sidelines, but about being “in the band” and fully part of the collective performance of justice.

“When you in the band, you are in and constitutive of the collective performance, raising your voice in such a way bigger than you, that is what solidarity is at its deepest level,” West explained. “Don’t ever confuse your brand with a cause. No matter how high I go, I got to bring other folk with me because I don’t want to be some isolated exemplar of American success that reinforces the worst of the system.”

The speech served as a call to action as West distinguished between rage rooted in revenge and righteous indignation anchored in justice, before urging people to “bear witness” against injustice—even to the point of sacrifice. 

“We must choose a way of life with a ‘costly grace’ for a cause, not just a brand,” Dr. West said. “Through our examples, words, and deeds, we must make love, courage, joy, and healing contagious so people are convinced to become a countervailing force against fascism.”

Following his speech, Dr. West engaged in conversation with iONE Digital VP of Content and movement journalist Kirsten West Savali. Their conversation touched on liberation, the usefulness of rage, and fighting for justice in the face of neoliberal politics and authoritarian and fascist regimes. 

Dr. West’s words were a powerful reminder that in an age of “monstrosity and calamity,” the most radical act is to make love, courage, joy, and healing contagious as a way to truly manifest our power as one nation. 

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